Thursday, December 25, 2008

I took a walk in the snow this Christmas morning. The sky was just light and all around me the world was quiet.

As I walked up the road, the only thing stirring was the little red squirrel dashing here and there trying to figure out how to find his buried goodies and the lights of the next door neighbor's living room lights where their grandkids undoubtedly had pulled the family out of bed at 6AM.

Big fluffy flakes of snow drifted down adding downy puffs to the top of the birdhouse out back

and settling on the tree that most years my family decorates with popcorn and cranberries for the birds.

We didn't get around to doing that because the snow came so fast and furious this year we couldn't get to the tree before the snow was too deep.

Finally, after walking all around the lake I arrived back at the family cottage to a warm cup of coffee and to sit in silence and watch the snow drift down slow and straight; the last moments of Christmas peace before I leave for my parent's house down the road to our Christmas breakfast and the gathering of the family.

Later this afternoon I will return to the cottage to pick up the dessert, a trifle of last summer's berries lovingly gathered by my mother and a special dessert I can't tell you about right now. But, when it is revealed the eight hours I spent in the kitchen better have been worth it.

Best of all, when I return, I will take a few minutes to sit and ponder the lake, the snow, and most of all the cherished quiet that I always enjoy on Christmas day.